Days of Dance Concert series Returns to the Stage
As the year’s performance season comes to a close, the School of Dance prepares to showcase the talent of its faculty and students in its annual Days of Dance concert series. On hiatus for two years, the concert features choreography set by faculty as well as works set by both graduate and undergraduate students who have been working intensely with their casts over the course of several months to prepare for these performances.
This year, the students have created works from the styles of ballet to hip-hop, and ballroom to West African. Students submit work for an adjudication process throughout the semester. In a series of informal showings, student choreographers receive feedback about their work and continue to hone choreographic works to present to an adjudication panel of faculty, guests, and peers.
Assistant Professor, Caleb S. Mitchell is the director for this season’s concert. Mitchell is also presenting a ballet work entitled Lessons in Life and Love (L.n.L&L). The student submissions covered such a wide scope of dance genres and the concert will offer a showcase of techniques and versatility within the School of Dance.
Choreographer and Designer Tim Glenn, Professor of Contemporary Dance and Dance Technology, will premiere the new work, Light in Blue on Black, as part of this year’s Days of Dance, Program A. The work is performed by 18 BFA students from the School of Dance to musical selections by Jane Antonia Cornish. Glenn will perform with the cast from behind the live-feed camera that is projected onto two surfaces inside the proscenium. This multimedia work of integrated technologies includes props and costumes designed and constructed by Glenn. Carrying on the Nikolais legacy of total theater design, this production offers an illusionary experience in which no hallucinogenic drugs are necessary!
‘I am. We are.’ by Sami Frost Photo by Meagan Helman
Senior student choreographer, Sami Frost will present her work, I am. We are as she explores the ideas of relationships within a community and sharing space while still maintaining a personal identity. Sami says,
I was inspired to create a piece due to experiencing so much time apart from other people. This work begins to explore what it means to create a personal reflection and embodiment of your own physical body.
Other faculty choreographers include Professor Ilana Goldman and Adjunct Faculty and Production Manager, Rachel S. Hunter. Another student work includes 3rd year undergraduate dance major Cameron Kay’s piece titled “free” market. This contemporary work explores the struggles that can be faced finding humanity in a modern world. It explores the complexities of the relationships between existing in a capitalistic society at the sake of sacrificing culture, freedom, and identity. Kay been choreographing for several years now, most recently creating works Renouvele performed with FSU’s School of Theatre and Lost and Found performed by the St. Petersburg Ballet Conservatory.
Days of Dance runs as two separate full-length programs in order to present the breadth of creative talent stemming from the School of Dance. Program A will be performed on April 15 and 23 at 7:30 pm and April 16 at 2:00 pm. Program B will be shown on April 17 and 22 at 7:30 pm and April 23 at 2:00pm. All performances will be held in the Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre in Montgomery Hall, located on the FSU campus.
Tickets for Days of Dance performances are $15 for adults, $12 for senior citizens and non-FSU students with ID, $10 for children and $5 for FSU students with ID. All seating is general admission. For ticket information, contact the Fine Arts Tickets Office at 850-644-6500 or online at www.tickets.dance.fsu.edu. Tickets may also be purchased directly before each performance at Montgomery Hall. The Box Office closes 15 minutes after the start of each performance.
For more information, email ldavis3@fsu.edu, or check online at dance.fsu.edu. The School of Dance is within the College of Fine Arts at Florida State University.
